


Living a Legacy

by AHaplessBystander



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Cliffhanger, Dancing, Dick Grayson is Batman, Earth-2, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Holidays, Huntress - Freeform, Kissing, Minor Violence, Pining, Romance, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHaplessBystander/pseuds/AHaplessBystander
Summary: A series of murders surrounding Wayne Incorporated have gained the attention of Helena Wayne who patrols Gotham as Huntress at night. The Wayne Charity Ball she's hosting is an obvious next target so she calls in the help of Batman and Dick Grayson as her date for the night.On a night filled with memories they remember the past and think about the future. Everything goes well until Hush makes an appearance.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Abbyromana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abbyromana/gifts).



> I have no experience with Earth-2 or with Helena Wayne except for what research I could do online, so I'm sorry if she seems OOC.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It was the same old song and dance. Dick had been attending Wayne functions for his whole life. Tonight was different however, it was his first Wayne Incorporated Charity Ball in a long time. None of the remaining family had appeared at a public function since their parents passing. It had felt wrong, like their perfect masks were cracking and they didn’t need to be under that level of scrutiny.

Dick fell into the routine of it though. He had picked out his own suit and laid it out next to the other suit he would be wearing that night. It had been Alfred’s favorite, the lapels were a subtle green and it was paired with a deep red tie. He always said how festive it was and Dick had agreed, wore it during the holidays every year even though his definition of festive was very different. The memory of it made him smile.

The warmth he felt died a little when he turned to the suit he was putting on first, a different sort of business suit. There was no way Batman’s usual armored suit could be hidden underneath his formalwear so he had opted for a lighter Kevlar version for tonight, his cape, cowl and belt had already been hidden at his destination. If all went well then Dick Grayson would be the only one making an appearance at the Charity Ball.

Slipping into costumes was easy, they were like a second skin to him by now, years of becoming Robin at night and running the rooftops with Batman. Though this costume didn’t fit as well as he had imagined it would when he was younger. It had been remade for him of course, but in the process of putting it on he also entered into a mental costume. Dick wasn’t sure if he could ever truly be Batman, but he could act Batman. And so he did, but the nights seemed just a little darker and lonely.

His three piece suit went on next, fitting perfectly over his costume. Yet another persona to be worn this night, Richard John Grayson: young socialite and inheritor of half the Wayne fortune, the Batman: masked vigilante, and underneath all that just Dick Grayson: a man filling his father’s shoes as was expected of him.

Dick looked in the mirror, fixing his tie and pulling on the sleeves of his jacket before heading out the door. There was a limo parked out front of the manor to ferry him to the party where he would meet his date for the night. The last thing he wanted was to keep her waiting.

~~~

Helena Wayne was not someone who liked to be kept waiting. Yet she was the first person there at the restored ballroom, watching the final preparations for the Charity Ball she had taken over as host of and staking out the event from within.

Over the past month Wayne Incorporated had been hit by a number of disasters. Important clients and business partners had been found gruesomely murdered or their companies had suffered a sudden bankruptcy. It wasn’t to the point that Wayne Inc. itself was feeling the losses but it had become clear to her that someone was targeting her company.

The Charity Ball was an obvious target for someone trying to damage the company. Helena had kept the tradition of holding it every year before Christmas except now it was held in memory of her parents and the donations went to causes they had supported throughout their lives. She had a distaste for these sort of things but this particular event was one she would always hold dear. They had attended every year as a family and the glamour of it had been a highlight to her young eyes. All the Gotham elite dressed in their finest and came to dance and write checks for exorbitant amounts of money. Now it was pay dirt waiting to happen for any of Gotham’s rogues.

It was still the same old song and dance. Helena Wayne being the good daughter and fulfilling her role as heir to Gotham royalty, and Huntress protecting the city from those who would do it harm. And tonight she had a special date for both her personas.

A clamor rose outside the entrance to the ballroom, guests had only just started arriving and the reporters lining the red carpet had been quiet up till now. She started toward the entrance expecting trouble.

Through the glass doors she made out a limo that had pulled up and caught sight of the man that exited and was making his way down the carpet toward her. He walked slow, pausing to smile and pose for pictures, his suit fit him perfectly accentuating the long lines of his lithe body. Dick Grayson was trouble alright, had been her whole life. Growing up she’d always run after him, wanted to follow in his exact steps despite him being so much bigger than her. Dick Grayson had been her only star, he shone so brightly that she couldn’t help but admire him. Dick Grayson was her ideal, he stood tall in the spotlight and she had always yearned to stand beside him in costume as an equal. Now though, watching as he catches sight of her and smiles, all she wants to have him stand beside her all the time.

Dick stopped before her and for a moment all she could do was look up into his blue eyes as he puts his arms around her in a light embrace leaning forward. Her heart stuttered as he brushed a soft kiss against her cheek and picked up again with a painful lurch when he stepped back out of her space.

“You look lovely tonight Helena.” Dick said, taking her hand.

~~~

It was hard to take his eyes off Helena. Her dress was a rich mauve, backless and dipping low between her breasts, the fabric hugging her hips and falling to her black heels. A glittering necklace graced her pale collarbone and Dick couldn’t help but to smirk. It was an heirloom from her mother, it had been one of her favorite pieces and trophy for a successful heist and subsequent escape from Batman.

“And you’re looking as dashing as always, broke out the old Christmas suit I see.” she said, giving his hand a quick squeeze in hers before leading him into the party.

“Well there are some things that will never change as the years go by I guess. How have the party preparations gone?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing around the large space.

“According to plan so far, hopefully the night stays quiet.”

Dick tried not to let his eyes linger on her as she moved ahead of him, her breasts swayed with her gait and the soft glow of her skin under the chandeliers. For their whole lives he had let her set the tone of their relationship. Let her make the choice to accept him as a brother, as a teacher, as a partner and even though he kept waiting she hadn’t shown any signs of making their relationship more than that. They were already family and all each other has left, he shouldn’t want more but he does.

The ballroom was brightly lit by chandeliers hanging from the vaulted ceiling, each draped with crystals throwing the light around the room and reflecting off the large stained glass windows that lined the second story. Helena’s heels clicked on the polished wood flooring as they passed by the small ensemble playing music and to a low stage. As host Helena greeted the crowd of guests, introduced the charities for the night and wished them all a wonderful night of dancing. They took to the floor themselves, only partly to avoid making small-talk with the socialites.

Dick held her hand lightly in his left and pressed his right against the bare skin of her back. The warmth of it sent tingles up his arm as they started to move together.

“I’m glad you could make it tonight.” Helena said quietly.

He pulled them closer together so he could hear her over the echoing music. Her thighs brushed his lightly with every step they took.

“It’s my pleasure.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side for this.” Helena smiled, and he isn’t totally sure if she’s talking about the dancing, the ball or their mission. But her voice has a hint of wistfulness in it.

“I’ll always be here if you need me, even for things like this.” Dick assured, giving her a quick squeeze and a laugh.

Helena doesn’t laugh back, she averted her eyes and looks just over his shoulder for a while.

“I want to tell you all these things I know you already know. Don’t do anything stupid, stay safe because I can’t lose you too Dick.” she said, looking back a him, “Mom and Dad, they should be here still. Each year I keep thinking it’ll get better, that I’ll miss them less… so just be careful okay?”

Dick nodded, “Okay.”

Helena had been the one to encourage him to become Batman. It was something that had been an expectation, for Robin to one day take Batman’s place, but they had never talked about it out loud until Bruce was gone. But he got it, he didn’t want to follow exactly in Bruce’s steps. Batman’s rogues were getting older but they couldn’t become complacent in their watch over Gotham.

He slowed their dancing, letting go of her hand to bring his up to cup her face.

“And just so you know, I feel the same way as you do,” he murmured.

Helena’s eyes widened slightly and the next thing he knew, her mouth was on his, her soft lips moving against his and this was not what he had meant but he would take it. Dick shut his eyes and leaned further into the kiss, responding to it and holding Helena closer.

Okay, so maybe it was better to say that she felt the way he did, if the kiss was anything to go by. He had dreamed of this and the reality was so much sweeter.

Their lips parted against each other for a moment and the kiss turned filthy, his tongue running along her bottom lip and tangling with hers before they broke apart. Dick rested his forehead against hers and kept his eyes closed, shutting reality out for a couple more seconds, just breathing the same air.

He picked up his head, “That was--”

But Helena wasn’t looking at him, she was looking over his shoulder again, face turned stern, tracking something with her eyes.

“What is it?” he asked, taking her hand again.

“Movement. Behind the upper windows,” she whispered.

Dick took in the crowd around them and doesn’t turn around. He smiled at Helena, leaned in and giving her another chaste kiss, winks and then leads them off the dance floor, headed for one of the hallways leading to the rest of the building. Just a couple looking for some privacy.

They had just entered the hallway when the stained glass windows shattered inwards, raining jagged pieces down onto the unsuspecting crowd. As people began to scream in horror and pain, Dick and Helena ran. The rest of their costumes were hidden in a locked storage closet. It took them seconds to change and make for the roof hoping to find the cause. Up a steel ladder and onto the domed roofing.

Batman was the first out, cape billowing in the wind of the night as he searched the area for a figure, Huntress putting her back to him and checking sight lines to the other rooftops.

Just over the wind, the screaming from below and the distant sirens they heard a low voice, “Looks like it’s my lucky day. Not one but two pieces of the Wayne legacy.”

They stood, shocked still, as a man appeared at the other end of the curved roof. The man’s face was covered with bandages winding around his whole head and clad in a trench coat. He had two pistols aimed at them.

“Hush.”


End file.
